Harrison Butker joins Chiefs’ White House visit after doubling down on controversial commencement speech

Sports

By Francesca Bacardi

Harrison Butker joined the Kansas City Chiefs during the team’s visit to the White House on Friday after doubling down on his offensive commencement speech.

The kicker appeared in a classic suit alongside Travis Kelce, Patrick Mahomes and the rest of the squad as they met President Joe Biden to celebrate their championship season and victory in Super Bowl LVIII earlier this year.

Butker, 28, has made headlines in recent weeks after he addressed Benedictine College’s graduating students during a commencement speech in which he declared a woman’s “most important title” should be homemaker.

The professional kicker, who is a devout Catholic, also condemned the LGBTQIA+ community and attacked the president’s “bad policies and poor leadership.”

Butker faced tremendous backlash for the comments, including from the nuns at the religiously affiliated college, but the athlete ultimately doubled down in a second speech weeks later.

“At the outset, many people expressed a shocking level of hate. But as the days went on, even those who disagreed with my viewpoints, shared their support for my freedom of religion,” Butker said at the Regina Caeli Academy Courage Under Fire Gala.

“As to be expected, the more I’ve talked about what I value most, which is my Catholic faith, the more polarizing I have become.”

Butker, whose own mother is a renowned physicist, made it clear he did not “regret” his decision at all and instead called it one he “consciously made.”

“If we have truth and charity, we should trust in the Lord’s providence and let the Holy Ghost do the rest of the work,” he said.

Mahomes, 28, told reporters that there were “certain things” from Butker’s speech he didn’t “necessarily agree with” but defended his character.

“I’ve known Harrison for seven years, and I judge him by the character that he shows every single day, and that’s a good person,” the quarterback said.

Kelce, 34, took a similar stance to Mahomes’, calling Butker a “great person” who is entitled to his views; however, he clarified that didn’t agree with “just about any of it besides him loving his family and his kids.”

“I’m just gonna go back to my beliefs and my family,” the tight end continued. “My views are never gonna be the same as the man next to me.”